Thursday, July 29, 2010

Ever since I tasted these cookies three years ago, I have been trying to find a recipe for Italian chocolate cookies that can compare. Unfortunately, my attempts at recreating these fantastic cookies did not even come close. I first tasted these cookies because my boyfriend's mom sends a huge bag of them in a care package around the holidays every year. And of course, I steal a couple...Okay, maybe more than a couple.

Since I have been craving these all summer and the holiday season is nowhere in sight, I finally got around to asking for the recipe. I am so glad I did because I will be making these every chance I get. In fact, these have become my favorite cookie! Their cakey soft texture, delicate spicy flavor, and sweet layer of icing is incredible. You will be wishing it was the holidays just for an excuse to make these constantly.

This recipe is originally doubled, but I think the halved version makes the perfect amount of cookies if you don't plan on sharing. You should definitely double the ingredients for the holidays or else your friends and family might steal all of them from you...Blasphemy! Who does that?!

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet (or two) with parchment paper.

Mix the melted butter and sugar together until it reaches a gel-like consistency. Add the eggs and milks and mix well. Add the dry ingredients and half the flour. Beat just until combined and then mix in the rest of the flour.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (You can even refrigerate overnight. It makes the dough easier to form into balls.)

Roll into round, shiny balls.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Cool completely before icing.

For the icing, stir the 3 ingredients together. The icing should be really thick so that it dries quickly to form a thick layer. You can either drizzle the icing over the cookies or dip the tops of the cookies into the icing. (I found that the dipping was a bit easier.)

I was a bit underwhelmed after making these. I'm all about spice and chocolate, but I found these to be just so-so. I found the dough to be tasty, but the baked cookies weren't sweet enough, chocolate enough or spicy enough for my tastes. Then after I frosted them, all I could taste was the frosting. Maybe if the recipe had ginger in it...I remember being surprised that it didn't. Or could be, this just wasn't my day to make cookies.

Love your blog though. Great pics and interesting posts. Keep up the good work,Shan

I definitely agree that the cookies by themselves have a very delicate flavor and could use more punch. I guess I just love the sweetness of the glaze so much I don't think much about the cookie underneath...But I think I have a remedy!

If you want more sweetness and spice, I would suggest adding 2 cups of chocolate chips to the batter, as well as doubling the spice amounts. I don't think ginger is traditionally used in these cookies, but you could try it if you want it to be more like a ginger cookie.

Thank you so much for your comment, and I hope these modifications create a cookie more suited to your tastes!

I made these last night, except I accidentally read teaspoons as tablespoons for the spices. It turned out to be a delicious mistake: the cookies were super flavorful and spicy. The icing balanced it out gorgeously. Everyone that I've given them to has loved them so far. Thank you!